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The former Newcastle United goalkeeper has given his take on the current situation at his old club.
Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given believes key figures at his old club are right to be frustrated that they have been unable to kick on following their Champions League adventure.
The former Republic of Ireland international, who made over 463 appearances during a 12-year stay on Tyneside, knows all about representing the club in European football’s elite club competition after representing the Magpies in their previous two Champions League group stage campaigns. Given was on hand to witness the club’s return to the competition last season and he had hoped Eddie Howe could make such nights a regular occurrence at St James Park.
However, the limitations of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations have played a major role in hampering Newcastle’s attempts to impress and have limited the impact their Saudi-led owners can make on the finances at the club. Given admitted he shares in the frustrations that have been aired by the club’s supporters and believes the club have ‘plateaued a bit’ over the last 18 months.
He told BBC 5Live’s Monday Night Club: “There’s a frustration, I think, at Newcastle because we all speak about they’ve got the wealthiest owners in the world, and every time they open a door, it’s like, well, you can’t do this, and you can’t do that. It’s frustrating because when the takeover happened, you’ve seen the celebrations on the streets of Newcastle. I’m not saying they wanted to buy the Premier League or buy the Champions League, but they felt that they could really compete again at the very top table, and look, they dipped their toe in last year, of course, in the Champions League, but again, have they sort of plateaued a bit now, because Newcastle are sitting mid-table.”
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There have been some suggestions the Magpies hierarchy could look to appoint a new manager if Howe fails to lead the club back into Europe this season. However, Given has insisted the former Bournemouth boss should remain in charge and the blame for an underwhelming performance lies in their inability to add to their squad.
He said: "I still think Eddie Howe is the right man, but at the same time, you know, as a new director of football, they can’t bring in all these players that maybe they feel that they have to, to actually compete both in the Premier League at the very top and in the Champions League.”
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